The Mummy's Gold
by ficwriterjet
Summary: From the 1999 movie. This story takes place directly after the first movie, and before the second. Rick, Evie, and Jonathan run into trouble when they try to sell the gold they've found. Warning: M/F spanking of an adult


Author's Note: This is a fanfic from the 1999 version of the movie 'The Mummy'. This story takes place directly after the movie. Written August 2009.

The Mummy's Gold

After four long hours in the saddle with the hot desert sun beating down on her, Evie decided camel saddles just weren't built for two. But she wasn't complaining. She'd actually enjoyed the first two hours, snuggled up to the man who'd gone to great lengths to rescue her. Over the next two hours her discomfort grew, but she when she thought about the gruesome deaths of people around her over the past few days, she found herself unable to complain about something so trivial.

When they were two thirds of the way back to Cairo, Rick could feel Evie squirming in his arms more frequently trying to find a comfortable position, and decided it was time for a ten minute break. Jonathan, who was riding beside them, was more then ready for a break, and as soon as Rick stopped, Jonathan climbed down off his camel to stretch his legs. He dug around in the saddlebags on the camel he had taken, hoping to find some water. He was pleased to find both water, and some traveling food. He took a drink and then offered some to Rick and Evie once they were off their camel.

Evie took a drink and then tried to sound casual as she asked Rick, "What do you plan to do once we get back to Cairo?"

"Have a stiff drink and take a bath."

Somewhat flustered at the idea of Rick in a bath, she looked away and handed him the water. "Yes, but what I meant was, now that this job is over, and you're no longer incarcerated, what do you plan to _do_?"

"Oh." Rick had to think about that for a few seconds.

While he was thinking Jonathan spoke up, "Have many stiff drinks? That's what I plan to do."

Rolling her eyes in irritation, Evie said, "There's more to life then drinking alcoholic beverages Jonathan."

"Yes, but drinking is the best part," Jonathan said cheerfully while handing both of them some of the travel food. .

Turning back to Rick, Evie said, "I mean… do you... are you planning to stay in Cairo for long?"

Not having to think that one through, Rick looked her in the eyes and said, "That depends."

"On what?" Evie found she couldn't look away from his intense gaze.

"On if you'll let me see you."

Blushing, Evie couldn't help the brilliant smile that came across her face as she looked away and said shyly, "Oh... well that would be lovely."

Leaning down, Rick put a hand on the side of her face and kissed her gently. When he pulled away he said, "We should get going. We still have two hours left to go before we get to Cairo, and the hottest part of the day is coming."

Jonathan put the water back in his saddlebag and got up on his camel while Rick and Evie got on theirs.

Two long hot hours later, they finally arrived in the outskirts of Cairo. Once the camels stepped from the sand on to the first street paved with stones, Evie turned to Rick and said, "Let's walk."

Both men were more then ready to get off the camels for the day, and started walking, leading the camels behind them. As they walked Rick said, "I think we should stop at the camel dealer's before we go to the hotel. See what we can get for these two."

Jonathan's shoulders slumped slightly as he nodded. "Yes I suppose that's best. It's a cruel world we live in. God's torturing me. Showing me a room full of gold, only to snatch it away. And the punch line is selling camels for cash to pay for my hotel room. Think of it Evie. We could be staying in the best hotel in Cairo, on our way to the best hotel in England. If only I'd had a little more time… just enough to shove a few pieces of gold into my pockets. How can I live knowing all that gold is hidden under the earth six short hours away from me, and do nothing about it? There must be..."

Jonathan continued grumbling and feeling sorry for himself for the next few blocks. Rick could see Evie's irritation growing with every word Jonathan said, even though she hadn't said anything to him. He could also see disapproval written all over her face as she listened. Having seen enough, Rick interrupted Jonathan in mid rant, "If you'd stayed any longer, you'd be dead like Beni. Maybe you should be thinking about how lucky you are to be alive, instead of how much money you lost. Or at least keep it to yourself if you have to wallow in self pity."

Rick turned to Evie expecting her to be glad he'd shut her brother up, but instead she glared at him and walked over to Jonathan linking her hand through his arm. Confused, Rick turned to Jonathan who didn't seem the least bit ashamed or affected by what Rick had said, and continued on in the same vein, "Glad to be alive? Did you _see_ how much gold there was?"

Patting Jonathan's arm, Evie said, "Yes, of course we did. It's very disappointing."

They all started walking again, and Jonathan continued on complaining while Evie did her best to console him. Rick kept his mouth shut, while thinking that he didn't understand women at all.

Once they'd gotten their money from the camel dealer, Jonathan and Rick went to unload the packs off the camels to see if there was anything useful in them. Rick tried to pick his saddlebags up and off the camel, but the bag was unexpectedly heavy and he didn't have a good enough grip on it to keep it in his hands. The bag fell, and Rick saw pieces of gold spilling out around his feet. Evie gasped at the sight, while Jonathan smiled at the sky and said, "Thank you."

Jonathan was on his knees in a flash, throwing the flap open on the bag. He gleefully said, "Evie look! Look at what we have!"

Looking around, Rick noticed that not only the camel dealer, but also many people who'd been passing by on the street had stopped to notice the riches in front of them. Getting an uneasy feeling, Rick quickly squatted down next to Jonathan and started shoving the gold necklaces, cups, and coins back in the bag. Wrenching a few pieces out of Jonathan's hands, Rick said with some urgency, "Now isn't the time Jonathan. Let's get it back to the hotel, where we can have some privacy."

Indicating with his head the growing crowd of on lookers, Rick finished packing up the gold and closed the flap. Jonathan looked uncomfortably at the crowed, and said, "Yes, that sounds best."

Rick hefted the bag up over his shoulders with a massive amount of effort and a loud groan. He started walking towards the hotel and said, "Good thing it's only two blocks."

Evie and Jonathan quickly followed him, looking behind them now and then to make sure no one was following. Once they made it to the hotel they'd all been staying at before Imhotep had taken Evie, Rick turned to Evie and said, "Your room? It's the biggest."

"Yes." Evie led the way, and soon the three of them had the door shut and locked behind them. Rick put the saddlebags down on Evie's bed, opened the flaps, and turned them over to pour the contents out on the bed.

The three of them stared at the pile of gold in front of them. Evie said, "But how...."

"Beni you greedy little bastard."

"Beni?" Evie asked.

Shaking his head, Rick said, "He was the only one even close to the entrance. He'd already loaded up one saddle bag full of gold, and he was so greedy, he had to go back for more."

Looking pointedly at Jonathan, Rick said, "I'd say there's a lesson to be had there."

Grinning Jonathan agreed, "I'll say. Always pack your saddle bags immediately upon finding gold."

Rick started to shake his head in disagreement, but Jonathan was already sitting on the bed sorting the gold into three piles. Evie asked, "What are you doing?"

Without looking up, Jonathan said, "Sorting it into three even piles."

Walking over to the bed Evie sat by Jonathan and said, "You're not honestly thinking about selling it are you?"

They'd had this argument before. Jonathan glared at her and said, "Well that will depend on what we've got now won't it? If a museum is willing to cough up a large enough stipend to make it worth my time, then I'll be happy to donate. Otherwise I'll sell my share to the highest bidder."

Evie slapped his hand away from what he was doing and said, "Well at least let me organize it. You have no idea which artifacts have enough historical significance to interest the museums."

He relented, knowing she was right. Rick pulled up a chair next to the bed while Evie organize the gold. As she put it in different piles, she told them what the artifacts were, and made guesses as to what an English museum would pay for them. Once she was done, there were five piles on the bed. She hated to see any of it for sale on the open market, but she had to admit there were a few damaged pieces that the museums wouldn't be all that interested in. She pushed the smallest pile towards Jonathan and said, "Those will bring us more money as gold rather then as artifacts."

Rick spoke up, "Okay, so we sell these now and split the money. Then donate the rest to a museum and split the stipend money once we get it. That seems fair to me." He looked at Jonathan and asked, "What do you say?"

"Sure it sounds like a good plan, except that my dear sister left out the difficulties involved in getting the gold_ to _England." Turning his attention to Evie, Jonathan continued, "We can't very well get a stipend from a museum with just the promise of artifacts now can we?"

Waving him off Evie said, "Details."

Looking confused Rick said, "Why would getting the gold to England be a problem?"

Evie explained, "It's quite illegal to just bring gold into the country. I'll have to contact the museum, and get paperwork filed before we can take it."

"Which can take weeks," Jonathan added.

Shaking his head Rick said, "Weeks? It would be one thing if no one knew we had it, but with the way word travels around this place, the whole city knows about this gold by now. We'll be lucky to get it sold tomorrow before someone tries to steal it. No way can we keep track of it for weeks without someone getting their hands on it."

Evie shook her head. "The library has a safe we can use."

Rick took some time to think things over and then said, "Okay then. Tonight we put everything in the safe, tomorrow morning we'll contact the museum in England, and we'll sell this small pile as soon as we can. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Jonathan and Evie said in unison.

Evie looked down at herself and realized she was still wearing the black nightgown she'd had on when Imhotep had taken her. "But I can't go to the library looking like this."

Trying not to stare at her chest, Rick nodded in agreement. "I'll keep an eye on the gold, and call downstairs for a meal to be brought to the room while the two of you get cleaned up. Then after we eat, I'll clean up before we take the gold to the museum."

# # #

Two hours later, the three of them were cleaned up and full, and the gold was tucked away in the safe at the museum. When they arrived back at the hotel Rick turned to Evie and saw her yawn. He said kindly, "You didn't get much sleep last night, did you want a few hours to yourself to take a nap this afternoon? Then you could meet us a little later for supper?"

With a sheepish smile she admitted, "I am a little tired."

"Being chased by mummies will do that to you," Jonathan sympathized and then turned to Rick, "I'm going to stop in the bar for a drink. Want to join me?"

Shaking his head, Rick said, "You and I need to go set up a meeting with a buyer."

Evie had been thinking that her bed sounded awfully nice, but this was something she didn't want to miss. "I'll come with you. I'd like to meet the buyer before we go sell the gold tomorrow."

"No," Rick said with finality.

"No? What do you mean no?"

"I mean no you can't come with us now or tomorrow."

"That's ridiculous! Why on earth not?"

Rick could see the people in the lobby were starting to look their direction. He took Evie's hand and pulled her with him up the stairs towards her room, knowing Jonathan would follow. "We need to be a little more discrete."

She rolled her eyes and said, "You're one to talk about discretion," but let him pull her up to her room.

Once they were in Evie's room Rick turned to her, "I was in the Cairo prison. I know a lot more then I'd like to about the kind of people that buy gold here. Usually the German's are the most trustworthy, but you still have to watch your back when you meet with them. No way am I letting you anywhere near that situation."

Evie stared at him for a few seconds and then said with a mixture of irritation and anger, "Letting me?"

Jonathan backed up out of his sister's room as he muttered, "You've done it now."

Pointing her finger in Rick's face, Evie said, "Let me tell you something _Mr. O'Connell_. You have absolutely no say over where I may or may not go!"

Rick leaned into Evie's personal space as he said, "Well let me tell you something _Miss Carnahan_, you're not going, and that's final!"

"I intend to be there when you sell that gold to make sure we get a fair price, and _that's_ final!"

"If you want to make sure we get a fair price, then you'd better tell me what you think it's worth, because you're _not_ going!"

"You're completely insufferable!" Evie tossed her hands up in frustration.

"Insufferable? I'm insufferable? I'm just trying to protect you!"

"Well nobody asked you to!"

"Yes you did!" Rick yelled incredulously. "Less then ten hours ago you were calling out for me to protect you from Imhotep!"

"Oh," she paused to think about that for a second before jumping back into the argument. "Well that was different now wasn't it? These men aren't going to try and kill me."

"They might! I'm telling you they're dangerous, and even if they don't want to kill you, I'm sure they'll try to... well..." his voice lowered as he made a gesture to indicate her breasts as he looked at them, "...to compromise your...your..."

Evie looked down at her chest and realized what he was implying. She blushed and crossed her arms. "Telling me I can't come based on the assumption that someone may try to hurt me is ridiculous. I'm sure there won't be any problems."

Completely frustrated with her, Rick said, "You know what? You're right. There won't be any problems."

He took a step forward, picked her up, and tossed her over his shoulder. "Because you're not going."

Having been in this position before, she knew very well what he was planning. "Don't you dare lock me in my room again!"

She found herself plopped down onto her bed. Rick had her doors shut and locked before she had time to even scramble up off the bed. Rushing to the door, she tried the handles and slapped the door a couple of times as she yelled, "Let me out this instant!"

"We'll let you out when we get back!" Rick yelled back.

"Jonathan!" Evie said in desperation.

Looking back and forth a few times between Rick and the door, Jonathan tried to decide what he should do.

Running a hand through his hair Rick muttered, "I need a drink."

At the mention of alcohol, Jonathan decided his sister could use some time to cool off. Rick put a hand on Jonathan's shoulder and pushed him towards the stairs. While walking away from the door, Jonathan called out over his shoulder, "Get some rest Evie. We won't be long."

As the men were walking away they heard her kick the door in frustration.

# # #

Rick and Jonathan made their way to the bar that was off to the side of the lobby. They ordered a couple of shots of whisky, and Rick swallowed his down in one gulp before asking for another. As the second shot was being poured he turned to Jonathan and said, "Has she always been this… this difficult?"

Smiling fondly, Jonathan nodded, "Oh yes. She was strong willed even as a small child. Our parents always encouraged her to speak her mind."

After downing his second shot Jonathan turned to smile at Rick. He could see Rick's frown of disapproval and tried to explain. "My mother wanted to have a large family. After I was born, they tried to have more children, but were unable. They'd given up hope after a few years. Mother called Evie her miracle child. She's ten years younger then me, and we all doted on her."

Both men had a third shot, and then Rick turned his glass upside down, wanting to be sober when he set up a meeting for tomorrow. Jonathan was about to have a fourth, but Rick pulled him by the front of the shirt out of the bar and said, "Let's go."

Jonathan had already had a few drinks with their meal, and now was feeling warm and happy as the two of them walked down the street. Still smiling he continued on with his train of thought. "One time when Evie was seven, she made a huge fuss about going with my father on a dig. He was a famous archeologist you know. He thought it would be dangerous, and actually told her no, which was somewhat rare. She was fit to be tied, and refused to eat for the rest of the day. The next day when my father arrived at the dig site, he found her hidden in the back seat of his car under some blankets."

"What happened?"

"Mother was frantic with worry all morning, and Father had to drive Evie all the way back home. Cars were scarce back then, and Evie loved to ride in them. Father was not pleased, and didn't bring her any gift when he came home the next week. She was distraught for days."

With a look of disapproval, Rick shook his head and said, "He didn't bring her a gift? Sounds to me like he should have put her over his knee."

Jonathan laughed, "Father never would have thrashed Evie. Not only was she a girl, she was the baby of the family. Besides, she was sweet and loving to everyone around her. She even took the blame for things I did a couple of times to keep Father from thrashing me. We all had a soft spot for her."

Rick mulled that over, thinking to himself, _I have a soft spot for her too._ _That's why I want to keep her safe._

Once they arrived at the local restaurant, Rick kept a sharp eye on the people around. He had no desire to get stabbed in the back, figuratively or literally. He spotted the person he was looking for, and headed over with Jonathan following closely behind. "Hello Dedrik."

Dedrik was sitting at a table having drinks with some friends. Rick could tell that the rumors about their gold had already traveled around the city when Dedrik stood up and said with eager cheer, "Rick O'Connell my friend, it's good to see you out of jail."

With a wary smile Rick said, "It's good to be out."

"No hard feelings right?"

"Hard feelings? Why would you think that?"

There was a short pause of confusion while Dedrik wondered what Rick was playing at.

Rick continued, "Just because you blamed me for the cigarettes you stole from the guards, why would that upset me? Being stuck in that little cage under the blistering sun is actually fun after two days with no water."

His smile went away, but Dedrik still played along, "I'm glad you're not holding a grudge O'Connell. Why are you seeking me out? Revenge, or business?"

"I want to set up a meeting with Mr. Krause."

Dedrik shooed his friends away, and then gestured for Rick and Jonathan to have a seat at his table. Once they were all sitting, Dedrik leaned forward and said, "Mr. Krause is a very busy man. He won't set up a meeting with just anyone. You'd have to make it worth his time."

"It'll be worth his time."

"How worth it?" Dedrik pressed.

Jonathan opened his mouth to start talking about the gold, but Rick put a hand over Jonathan's mouth to stop him before he could get a word out, without actually looking in Jonathan's direction.

"You tell him we want to meet here tomorrow morning, and if he doesn't want to show up, I'm sure I can find us another buyer."

Sitting back in his chair, Dedrik shrugged slightly as if it didn't matter to him, and said, "He'll be here at eight o'clock."

"Good," Rick stood and pulled Jonathan up with him. As they were leaving, Rick noticed the people staring at them, and made a mental tally of all the exits in the building.

The walk back to the hotel was uneventful. When they arrived, Rick looked up towards Evie's room, and then over at Jonathan, "Do you think she's had time to calm down?"

Jonathan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Only one way to find out."

With a nod, Rick headed towards the stairs with Jonathan following a few feet back. Keeping his voice low in case Evie had fallen asleep, Rick leaned in towards the door and said, "Evie? We're back. I'm letting you out."

Not getting a response, Rick unlocked the door and took a peek inside. She was asleep on the bed with her face turned towards the door. Rick smiled softly before backing out to let her sleep a little longer. He left the door open a crack, so when she did wake up, she would know it was unlocked.

The men quickly decided they could both use a nap as well after the nonstop excitement of the past few days. Leaving Evie a note to meet them for supper, they both retired to their own rooms for some rest.

# # #

Later that evening Rick was the first one to arrive at the hotel's dining area. Not seeing his companions, he walked over to the bar to search for Jonathan. He practically ran into Evie and Jonathan who were exiting the bar just as he was about to enter. With an unsure smile, Rick looked Evie in the eye and said, "Did you sleep well?"

Evie pursed her lips and looked past Rick as she said, "I slept very well during my incarceration."

Rick crossed his arms in frustration and refused to apologize for what he had done to keep her safe.

After an uncomfortable pause, Jonathan said, "Are we going to eat, or should I go back to the bar?"

Evie linked her hand into the crook of Jonathan's arm and headed them towards the dining area. Rick followed with a scowl on his face. It was early in the evening, and the restaurant was mostly empty. There was a small stage near the back where a band was setting up to play, and a dance floor in the center, surrounded by tables.

Once they were seated, Evie's curiosity won out over her anger, and she asked, "Were you able to set up a meeting?"

"Yes, it's going to be at eight o'clock tomorrow morning with a well known gold dealer here in Cairo named Mr. Krause," Rick answered.

"Have you done business with him before?"

Rick leaned forward in his chair and spoke in a low tone. "I have, and he's not to be trusted."

Jonathan and Evie sat forward and leaned in as well to keep their conversation private. Evie said, "If he's not to be trusted, then why have you set up a meeting with him?"

"Because none of them can be trusted, and we need to sell it to someone. Mr. Krause has a better reputation then most. None of his customers have ended up dead. Or if they did end up dead, no one found out about it."

Evie's eyes opened wide and she exclaimed, "Oh my."

At the same time Jonathan squeaked out the word, "Dead?"

"His right hand man is Dedrik. Dedrik and I spent some time together in prison, and we got to know each other pretty well."

"That's good right? He's your friend, so he can make sure the deal goes well," Evie said.

Rick shook his head. "I said we got to know each other. Not that we're friends. I know him well enough to know he would stab his own mother in the back if the price was right."

Their conversation was interrupted as a waiter came up to their table. Once they had given their order, Evie said, "So again, why have you set up a meeting with them?"

"Because I know what I'm getting into with them. Mr. Krause buys fifty percent of the gold here in Cairo, and he knows me well enough to think twice before trying to double cross me. And I'm sure the whole city has heard rumors about how much gold we have."

Jonathan asked, "Why does that matter? In fact, if everyone knows, then shouldn't we try to sell to the highest bidder?"

"If we were actually going to sell all of it, that would be better. But since we're only selling a little bit, it could get dangerous. Gold buyers are a greedy bunch, and if they know what they're missing out on, things could turn ugly."

With a worried frown Evie said, "Turn ugly in what way?"

"They might try to steal the gold before we're able to sell it. They might try to buy it with counterfeit money. If they find out how much gold we have, and how little of it we're selling to them, they will offer half of what it is worth until we promise to give them the rest. And if they got their hands on Evelyn…." Rick trailed off shaking his head, not even wanting to think about what they might do to her.

The band had finished setting up and started to play. Wanting to forget about everything except Evie for a few minutes, Rick smiled at her and asked, "Dance with me?"

Caught off guard by the question, Evie forgot to stay angry with him, "All right."

He stood and held his hand out for her. She took it and let him lead her to the dance floor. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her close, and started moving them in time to the music.

Overwhelmed by how good it felt to be so close to him and swaying to the music, Evie could only look into his eyes and smile.

Rick couldn't believe how beautiful she looked in this moment. She smelled faintly of lavender, her dark brown hair framed her face perfectly, and the light blue dress she was wearing accentuated her tiny waist. In that moment as they danced, he needed her to forgive him for earlier that day. He said softly, "I hope you understand about earlier today."

"Earlier today?" Evie was having trouble making her brain think of anything except the present.

"I don't want you to think I'm barbaric, but I need you to be safe. I couldn't live with myself if I took you to see Mr. Krause, and you ended up getting hurt."

Quickly remembering the way he had picked her up and locked her in her room, Evie looked down at his shoulder for a moment. It was hard to stay angry with him when she found herself inexplicably attracted to him. Looking back into his eyes she conceded, "I may have been slightly unreasonable at the time."

Rick leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Promise me you'll stay here when we sell the gold tomorrow."

Pleasant shivers ran down her spine as she felt his warm breath on her ear. Closing her eyes, she said, "All right."

Rick stood up straight and smiled down at her. Evie opened her eyes, and drew her eyebrows together in confusion for an instant, which quickly turned to realization. When she opened her mouth to take it back, Rick leaned down and kissed her.

Lost in the kiss, she was barely aware of the song ending or the people at other tables clapping. Rick broke away first, and gave her a genuinely happy smile before he said, "Thank you. It will be much easier for me to focus on selling the gold, knowing you're safe."

He saw her happy but blank expression and added, "We should get back to the table and see if our food has arrived."

As she was being led off the dance floor, she found herself annoyed. Once they made it back to their table, Rick pulled out the chair for her, but instead of sitting she said, "I need to use the powder room. I'll be right back."

In the bathroom, Evie glared at herself in the mirror and said with disbelief, "It was one dance! One dance and you'll agree to anything he says?"

She shook her head and tried to calm down before going back out.

Rick and Jonathan were discussing what they considered to be fair market value for the gold they planed to sell to Mr. Krause when Evie came back to the table. She joined in the discussion, and they soon agreed on a price range a few moments before dinner arrived.

# # #

The next morning, the three of them met in the lobby for an early breakfast. Once they all had some food in front of them, Rick said to Jonathan, "Hopefully everything will go smoothly at the meeting today. Mr. Krause wants the gold, and even if we don't sell him very much of it, he'll still be making money. But if something does go wrong, let me do the talking and follow my lead."

Jonathan nodded in agreement while taking a sip of his tea. Rick turned to Evie and said, "We'll come straight back here when we're done to let you know how it went."

Still annoyed with herself for agreeing to stay behind, Evie glared at him and took a bite of her eggs.

Rick could tell she still wasn't happy about being left out of it. He glared back and said, "You promised."

"All thank you not to remind me," she said curtly.

Rick leaned forward and hissed, "You promised."

"I know very well what I said."

Getting angry, Rick said, "If you even think about…"

Evie interrupted, "Just because I'm not happy about it, doesn't mean I don't intend to keep it. While the two of you are gone, I'll be composing a letter to the museum in England, letting them know what we have found."

Jonathan said, "Be sure to tell them we want them to name a price before we bring it to them."

"Yes, I will."

Somewhat mollified by the fact that she had plans, Rick looked at the clock. "Come on Jonathan. Time to go."

Rick and Jonathan got up to leave, while Evie stayed to finish off her tea. Rick pulled one of his two guns out of it's holster and set it on the table for Evie. He said, "Keep it in case anyone gives you trouble while I'm gone."

Somewhat uncomfortable with the firearm on the table, she quickly picked it up and put it in the pocket of her skirt. "Really Mr. O'Connell, I don't think this is necessary."

Rick said, "Be careful," before putting a hand on Jonathan's shoulder, and shoving him towards the door.

Less then five minutes after they had left, Dedrik walked into the restaurant. His eyes darted around at the patrons, and when a waiter asked if he'd like to be seated, he asked loudly, "Do you know if a Mr. Rick O'Connell is here? It's urgent that I speak with him."

The waiter said, "I believe Mr. O'Connell has already left."

Dedrik shook his head; "I guess that's it then. I'm too late."

Evie, having overheard Rick's name, stood and walked over to the man. "Excuse me sir, I couldn't help but overhear. Are you looking for Mr. O'Connell?"

"Yes, do you know where I can find him?"

"That depends on who is asking."

"My name is George. Rick and I served together in the French Foreign Legion."

Satisfied with this answer, Evie said, "He left about five minutes ago, but he should be back in an hour. Could I relay a message for you?"

Dedrik looked around and lowered his voice; "I came to warn him. He's walking into a trap."

Putting a hand up over her mouth in worry, Evie said, "Oh no!"

Pulling her towards the front door, Dedrik asked quietly, "Do you know which way he went? Maybe we could catch him before he gets there."

Evie wasn't sure where Rick and Jonathan had gone, but she suspected it was the area of town that her previous employer, Dr. Bey, had warned her to avoid. "I'm not positive, but I believe I know the general direction they headed."

"Will you help me find him?"

She hesitated, thinking about the promise she'd made, and about Rick's views on gold buyers. She took a good look at the man in front of her and said, "How do you know he's walking into a trap?"

"Last night I overheard two men talking about killing him to get his gold, but I didn't hear where they were planning to meet. It took me most of the night to even find out that this was where Rick was staying."

She could detect an underlying German accent in his voice, which made her think he was lying. But she couldn't stop herself from wanting to go to the meeting, or from worrying about the men's safety.

Dedrik said, "If we're going to have any chance of catching him, we need to go now."

She thought about the gun in her pocket. It would give her the element of surprise even if it were a trap. And she had to admit; the thought of proving Rick wrong did have appeal. She hated being left out of the deal, and if _she_ ended up being the one to save him for a change, she would be able to hold that over his head the next time he tried to tell her what to do. "Let's go."

They left the hotel together, and ran towards the bad area of town. When they were a few blocks away from the restaurant, Evie stopped and stood still, breathing hard for a few seconds, and looking frantically around at the different buildings, trying to catch a glimpse of Rick or her brother. Dedrik needed to catch his breath as well. As soon as she had enough breath, Evie asked, "Do you have a guess as to where they would be?"

"I don't need to guess, I already know," Dedrik answered as he grabbed her upper arm in a tight hold, and started walking them both towards the correct restaurant.

Startled by the abrupt change in the man, Evie tried unsuccessfully to pull away. Dedrik gave her a rough shake and said, "Be still if you know what's good for you."

She glared but let him pull her towards the building. They entered the restaurant, and she immediately saw Rick and Jonathan sitting at a table with an older gentleman. They were deep in discussion, and didn't see Dedrik or Evie at first. Evie could tell that Rick and Jonathan were not in any danger, and had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that Rick had been right, and that her presence there was only going to make things worse for everyone.

As Dedrik and Evie walked through the restaurant, she noticed two things. She was the only woman in the entire place, and that as the different men noticed her, they stopped what they were doing, and stared. Within half a second, the only people still making noise in the restaurant were Rick, and Mr. Krause.

Rick heard the quiet around him, and paused mid sentence to see what had happened. His heart skipped a beat as he saw Evie standing a few feet away from him. He stood and said, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Blushing at his concern, she reassured him, "I'm fine."

Chuckling, Dedrik said, "Hurt her? She was so intent on running to your rescue, I could barely keep up."

Rick's eyes narrowed as he looked at Evie, hoping it wasn't true. She tilted her chin up defiantly at his glare and said, "He told me they were going to kill you."

"So you thought you'd help by putting yourself in the line of fire?" Rick yelled.

"I was worried about you!"

Jonathan put his hand over his face and muttered, "What have you done?"

Rick yelled, "You promised me you'd stay at the hotel! We were just about to close the deal!"

Mr. Krause stood up, and said, "Enough!"

Everyone looked his way, and he addressed Rick. "It seems fortune smiles upon me today. Circumstances have changed, so now we make a new deal."

Taking that as her cue, Evie pulled the gun out of her pocket, and poked it into Dedrik's side. "Let them go, or I'll shoot.

Ten different men in the room stood up, and held their guns on Evie. She looked at them all wide eyed, and said, "Oh my."

Rick leaned towards Mr. Krause and said, "If anyone hurts her, I'll kill you."

Mr. Krause scoffed at Rick and said, "You're in no position to make threats." He turned to Evie and said, "Come now Fraulein, put the gun away and let us men discuss business."

Evie looked to Rick for direction. He made a hand motion for her to lower the gun, which she did.

As soon as she did, the men around the room lowered their guns too, but kept them in hand. Mr. Krause said, "There now, that's more civilized. Mr. O'Connell, I have a new proposition for you. You bring me all the gold you have in that safe, and not only will I give you fair market value for it, but I will also give you the woman for free. If you're only willing to sell me the small amount of gold we were discussing earlier, then I'm afraid all I can give you for it is Fraulein Carnahan."

"That's ridiculous!" Evie hissed. "I'm not for sale."

Mr. Krause gave her a tolerant smile, and then turned back to Rick, "What do you say?"

Rick nodded, "I'll go get you the gold, but Jonathan stays here to make sure Evelyn is safe. If he can't stay with her every second that I'm gone, the deal is off. I want your word on that."

Evie said, "Don't give in to their demands Rick!"

Mr. Krause spoke to Rick as if Evie hadn't spoke, "Of course, that's very reasonable of you. I'll send Dedrik along just to make sure you don't skip town with all the gold for yourself."

Rick turned to Jonathan and said, "Stay next to her the entire time."

Jonathan nodded in understanding. Rick walked over to Evie and put a hand on the side of her face. "Don't antagonize them. Just do what they say until I get you out of here."

She shook her head, "No, don't give them…"

He put a finger over her mouth and said, "I don't have a choice now."

Turning to Dedrik he said, "Come on. The sooner we get the gold, the sooner I can stop looking at your ugly face."

Dedrik pushed Evie down into the chair Rick had vacated, and followed Rick out the door. When they were a block away, Rick said, "Remember when you asked me if there were any hard feelings from prison?"

"Yes?"

Rick punched Dedrik as hard as he could in the face. Dedrik fell to the ground holding a hand over his broken nose and moaning. Rick said, "There are."

Leaning down, Rick took a fist full of Dedrik's shirt, and pulled him up off the ground just high enough to punch him in the side of the head. Dropping an unconscious Dedrik to the ground, Rick took out his gun, and headed back to the restaurant.

Sneaking to the back of the restaurant, Rick peeked into the windows, and tried to come up with a plan of attack. He could see Mr. Krause sitting at the same table with Evie and Jonathan through the back window. He also could see that there were two of Mr. Krause's henchmen in between the window and Mr. Krause. Rick looked around at the henchmen, and thought to himself that what he really needed was a distraction.

Walking around tot he left side of the building, he got close to another window, took aim, and shot one of the henchmen in the arm. There was chaos in the room as all the henchmen brought their guns up and tried to determine where the shot had come from. Rick shot a second one in the leg before running around to the back of the building again. This time when he looked in the window, there were no henchmen between him and Mr. Krause. Knowing he would only have one chance to get this right, Rick muttered, "Here goes nothing."

With a running leap, he shattered through the window, landed on his feet, and was able to grab Mr. Krause in a headlock before any of the henchmen were able to react. Holding his gun to Mr. Krause's head, Rick said, "It seems the circumstances have changed again."

Mr. Krause held his hands up in surrender, and frantically waved at his henchmen to lower their weapons. With a nervous laugh, Mr. Krause said, "Come now Mr. O'Connell, let's just all calm down."

"We go back to the original deal, you let us all go now, you bring our money to the hotel later this afternoon, and we'll give you the gold after we see the cash."

"Yes, yes, of course. That sounds like an excellent plan."

"Have all your men toss their guns out the windows."

Mr. Krause waved at his men to do what Rick said, and reluctantly they did it, but still had murder in their eyes. Rick turned to Jonathan and Evie and said, "Walk slowly towards the door. I'll meet you out front."

As soon as the two of them were gone, Rick whispered in Mr. Krause's ear, "You better hope we make it back to the hotel unharmed, or I'll come looking for you."

"I'm a business man Mr. O'Connell. I had to try and get as much of that gold as I could, and Dedrik said he had a plan to get it for me. Now that our plan has failed, I'm happy to go back to the original deal with no hard feelings."

Rick started walking them both backward towards the front door, keeping all the henchmen in his line of site. "You'll have to forgive me if I'm not ready to take you word on that."

Once they made it to the front door, Rick shoved Mr. Krause away, and ran out the front. Jonathan and Evie were waiting for him just outside the door. Rick grabbed Evie's elbow and pulled her along urgently. "Run!"

The three of them ran towards the hotel. Once they were a couple of blocks away, Rick looked behind them, saw no signs of anyone following them, and let go of Evie's arm. The three of them slowed to a slow walk, catching their breath as they continued towards the hotel.

While they walked, Evie kept darting glances at Rick, wondering how angry he was with her. She knew that showing up had done more harm then good, and she was embarrassed that she had let herself be fooled so easily. Realizing she was still holding Rick's gun, she handed it over to him and said, "You should probably take this back now."

He took it, and put it in his holster. Now that they were out of harms way, he found himself furious at her for putting herself in danger. He shook his head and said, "I can't believe you left the hotel today after everything I told you. After promising me you wouldn't! You could have been shot!"

Knowing he was right just made it all worse. She glared back and said, "I was tricked into believing you were in danger, and I wanted to help!"

He stopped walking, put his hands on his hips, and said, "Is that right?"

She mirrored his stance, "Yes that's right!"

"Wanna know what I think?"

"No!" she started walking towards the hotel again.

He followed her, and held up a finger as he made each point, "You were still angry about staying at the hotel, and that made you eager to believe anything that came out of Dedrik's mouth. You used his lies as an excuse to show up at the meeting. And then you pulled _my_ gun on Dedrik when you were _already_ surrounded, almost getting all of us killed!"

She crossed her arms and refused to answer him as they stepped onto the street their hotel was on. Angry at the lack of response or remorse from her, Rick said, "You know what I think? I think you deserve a spanking."

Shocked and angry at the thought, Evie stopped walking and turned bright red. She looked down her nose at him and tried not to sound flustered, "That's ridiculous!"

Rick stopped walking as well, crossed his arms and said, "I told you to stay at the hotel, and you deliberately came to find us, putting yourself in danger!"

Not liking where this was headed, Jonathan put a hand on Rick's shoulder and said, "Let's not be rash, give yourself some time to calm down."

Rick turned to Jonathan and said, "Maybe you don't care that she puts herself in danger every day, but I do." He shrugged Jonathan's hand off and turned back to Evie, "Maybe a spanking will help you remember to keep your promise next time."

"You wouldn't dare!" She could feel her heart racing in her chest.

"Wanna bet?" he said while putting his arms at his sides and taking a step towards her.

Evie found that she believed him, and panic shot through her. On instinct, she jumped out of his reach, and started running away down the street.

Not expecting this from her, Rick stood still for a second before turning to Jonathan, and asking with disbelief, "She's running?"

"Looks that way doesn't it."

With a grunt of frustration, Rick gave chase. .

The streets were busy with people going about their daily lives. There was a small open-air marketplace behind the hotel, and Evie headed towards it, hoping to get lost in the crowd. She was sure that once Rick had a little time to calm down, he would change his mind. As she rounded the corner to enter the market, she paused and glanced backward.

She could see Rick running towards her at an alarming speed. A squeak of distress came out of her as she turned and darted down the street, weaving between people. She looked frantically for a place to hide as she ran past each stand. After passing a few fruit stands, she found a stand selling blankets that were hanging up for display. Running behind a blanket, she ducked down, and watched different sets of feet pass by. She didn't see Rick's boots anywhere near, and hoped that meant she'd lost him.

After waiting a few seconds, she took a deep breath of relief. Suddenly, she felt a set of arms grabbing her around the waist. She let out a blood-curdling scream. A hand went over her mouth to muffle the scream, and Rick's voice in her ear said, "It's me."

Relief washed through her as she realized it wasn't one of Mr. Krause's henchmen. Then relief was replaced with anxiety, because Rick had caught her. His hand moved away from her mouth, and she craned her neck back to look at him. "Don't startle me like that!"

Letting go of her waist, Rick grabbed her wrist in his hand and glared at her. "Don't run from me, and I won't!"

"Don't threaten me, and I won't run from you."

Rick's mouth formed a thin line of pent up irritation, but he refused to comment. Instead, he started walking and pulling her back towards their hotel. Not putting up enough of a fuss to make a scene, but not following along peacefully either, Evie wracked her brain for another escape plan.

When they made it to the front of the hotel again, Evie tried harder to pull her wrist out of his grasp and said, "Unhand me!"

Without a word he leaned down, picked her up, and tossed her over his shoulder. She could see Jonathan standing by the entrance watching them, and said, "Jonathan, don't just stand there, help me!"

Having had some time to think it over, Jonathan had changed his mind. He shook his head, and said with a frown of sympathy, "Sorry old girl, but I think he may have a point."

"What!" she shrieked, "You can't possibly agree with this… this Neanderthal!"

Jonathan opened the door for Rick and addressed him as he said, "I'll be in the bar."

With a nod to Jonathan, Rick headed up the stairs. Evie squirmed and said, "I'll not put up with this appalling behavior from you Mr. O'Connell."

Getting no response, she slapped his back a few times and said, "I demand you put me down this instant! Mr. O'Connell! Put me down!"

Within seconds they had made it to Evie's room. Holding her legs with one arm he opened her door and walked in. Kicking the door closed behind him, he walked towards the first piece of furniture he laid eyes on which was the vanity. He pulled the vanity's chair out, and turned it around so that it was facing the room. Leaning down again, he set her on her feet, but kept a hand on her waist.

Before Evie had a chance to get her bearings, she found herself being pulled forward and down. Landing across his lap with an unladylike grunt, she caught her upper half with both hands on the carpet in front of her. Frustrated and angry, she struggled to get up, but found she couldn't.

Thinking to himself that she was throwing a tantrum that a four-year-old would be proud of, Rick kept one arm wrapped tightly around her waist, and used his free hand to pull up her skirt.

Gasping when she realized he was looking at her underclothes, Evie shouted, "This is completely inappropriate!"

"Inappropriate? It was inappropriate for you to show up at that restaurant!" Reaching under her garter belt, he pulled to get the bloomers down, and was soon looking at bare skin. Before she had time to do more then screech, he started spanking her.

Shocked at the pain, she yelled, "Ouch! Ow! Rick, stop!"

He continued to spank, and started to lecture as well, "I just saved you from Imhotep yesterday, and today I had to save you from Mr. Krause and his men. You need to stop being so bull headed, and trust me when I tell you something is dangerous."

Her body twitched with each swat, and high-pitched noises of distress were coming out of her throat, but she was also listening to him. "All right, I will! Ow!"

"I trust you when you tell me about history or ancient Egypt, don't I?"

"Yes! Ow! Please stop!"

"So why didn't you trust me and stay in the hotel?" he stopped swatting to let her answer.

Overwhelmed with pain and emotion, Evie blurted out the truth, "Because I was angry that you wouldn't let me come!"

"That's what I thought," Rick said, bringing the flat of his hand down even harder then before.

She cried out, "I'm sorry!"

"Me too," he said as he continued to deliver the harder smacks to her already pink behind.

Her legs kicked of their own accord, and she attempted to block his blows with her own hand as she broke down into tears. He let go of her waist long enough to grab her wrist. He tucked her arm safely away under her own stomach, held it in place, and continued the spanking.

Within seconds she was crying loudly, and he took that as his cue to stop. Without the loud noises of skin striking skin, the room was quickly filled with the noise of Evie's sobs.

Rick awkwardly pulled the undergarments back in place, and took a better look at them then he had while pulling them down. As he smoothed her skirt back down, he admitted to himself that Evie had been right. It was inappropriate for him to see her unclothed. But then he already thought of her as his, he just hadn't made it official yet, and that was easily rectified.

Knowing that this had been her first spanking, he was ready and willing to give her all the time she needed to calm down. He turned her over so she was sitting on his lap, and wrapped his arms around her.

While being flipped over Evie had gasped in surprise, but once she found herself upright, she leaned the side of her face into his chest and continued to cry.

After a few minutes, he said in a calm and quiet voice, "I just found you, I don't want to lose you. You need to promise me you'll be more careful with yourself."

She nodded and was able to get out the words, "I will. I promise."

"Good girl."

At this point, she would have been willing to agree to anything, but she meant what she had said. She hadn't enjoyed being held captive in that restaurant, and if she had it to do over again, she would have heeded Rick's warning. She added, "I'm sorry I put all of us in danger today."

Rick rubbed a hand up and down her back, "I know, and I forgive you."

Once she had her crying mostly under control, she sat up. But as she looked into his face, she burst into fresh tears, and dove back to the safety of his chest.

Surprised at the new tears he said, "It's going to be okay. You'll feel better in a few hours."

Feeling very sorry for herself she said, "You saw my knickers," knowing that he had in fact seen much more then that.

He knew she wouldn't understand, but he found her statement endearing. He smiled and hugged her tighter, "Well, to protect your honor, I suppose I'll have to offer my hand in marriage."

Startled out of her crying, Evie sat up to look him in the eye. "You're not serious."

Putting a hand on the side of her face, he wiped away her tears with his thumb and said, "I am. You didn't think I'd go to the trouble of saving you if I didn't have feelings for you did you?"

"Well… I… I…"

Rick leaned in and kissed her on the mouth. Once they broke apart, she had a small smile on her face, and with her eyes still closed she said, "I accept."

Leaning in with a large smile on his face, he kissed her again, and thought to himself that life would never be dull with Evie around.

When they broke apart again, Rick said, "If you're feeling better, we should go talk to Jonathan. I'm sure he's worried about you."

Leaning her forehead on his shoulder, she pictured her brother thinking about what had just happened to her and said, "I don't want to see him. In fact, I don't want to see anyone."

"He'll understand," Rick said gently.

Knowing it would be impossible to avoid him for long, Evie sighed and said, "All right. Give me a few moments to freshen up, and then I'll see him."

# # #

In the bar, Jonathan found he was too worried about what was going on upstairs to drink much. He still downed four shots before Rick showed up, but that was much less then usual. The instant he saw Rick in the doorway, Jonathan stood and walked over to him. "Is she all right?"

Rick patted Jonathan's shoulder and said, "She's fine. Not very happy with the whole situation, but fine just the same."

Jonathan headed towards the stairs, "I'll just go check…"

Rick stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and said, "She needs some time alone first, and there's something I need to ask you."

They found a table, and Rick ordered them both a shot. Once the drinks were in front of them, Rick said, "I want your blessing to marry Evie."

Choking on his drink, Jonathan shook his head to clear it and said, "What?"

"I want to marry your sister."

Jonathan looked towards the stairs, and then back at Rick. "After _that_, you want to ask her to marry you? Do you have a death wish? No, don't answer that, I already know you do."

Rick went on, "Your parents are gone, and you're the only close family she has. It would mean a lot to me if you gave us your blessing."

Waving at the waiter, Jonathan got them both another shot. As the waiter was pouring, Jonathan said, "You have my blessing for what it's worth. Good luck getting hers." He held his shot up in the air to make a toast and said, "To Rick, you're a braver man then I."

Rick lifted his glass and clinked Jonathan's before they both downed the alcohol. Rick smiled and said, "She already said yes. You should go see her; she's waiting for you. I'm going to go get the gold we're selling to Mr. Krause so it will be ready when he gets here."

Jonathan stood there in a daze for a few seconds, and watched Rick walk out of the hotel. Shaking his head, he went up to see his baby sister.

Knocking tentatively on the door, he called out, "Evie? Can I come in?"

She answered the door with a sad smile. He couldn't stand to see her puffy eyes and forlorn expression. He came in, shut the door behind them, and pulled her into a hug. After a few minutes of mutual comfort, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"And you really agreed to marry him?"

"I did."

He pulled away and looked into her eyes. "Do you think he'll make you happy?"

She smiled softly and said, "Yes. He may not have made me happy today, but then I didn't make me very happy today either. But I do believe that long term, he'll make me happy."

Jonathan shook his head and said, "I'll never understand women."

Later that afternoon, they were able to successfully sell the gold to Mr. Krause. And three months later, Rick and Evie were married in England, with a large sum of money in the bank to start their lives together, thanks to the museum stipend.


End file.
